Alexander the Great's desire to conquer the Persian empire 336-323BCE saw Greek culture exported across the entire known world which ushered in a new age: the Hellenistic age. This period is defined by the spread of Greek culture across the Mediterranean and Central Asia and caused the rise of Greek dynasties in Egypt, Thrace, Anatolia and Asia.
Alexander locks eyes with Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Issus 333BC. Mosaic from the House of the Faun Pompeii. Currently in Naples Archaeological Museum. Author's Photo.
An outlying city located in the ancient state of Bactria, modern Afghanistan and lay on the crux of the rivers Kockha and Oxus provides a perfect example for how wide Greek culture was disseminated. Its modern name is Ai Khanoum. There was something about this city that resonated with me, perhaps it was the lack of evidence, the rushed excavations before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in1979 or just the pure audacity of the Greeks to make it all the way and settle in Afghanistan.
Ai Khanoum represents a lost chapter in Afghanistan's history and is a testament to the spread and mixing of different communities from the 4th Century BCE. The city was stumbled upon by the chance discovery of a Corinthian capital - a visual marker of Greek architectural design in a hunting party by then Afghan King Nasher 1964. The name Ai Khanoum translates to lady moon in Uzbek and was the modern title granted to the settlement.
Although certain details are omitted from Ai Khanoum's history such as who founded it (Alexander or his general Perdicaas amongst others) or its original name (thought to be Eucratida or Alexandria on the Oxus). Archaeology has certified a foundation date of the 4th Century BCE and the city thrived till around 145BCE where the settlement was destroyed by the nomadic invaders the Sakas who would then be subject to the same treatment inflicted by the Chinese Nomadic group the Yuezhi. Thus the history of Ai Khanoum belongs to both the West and the East and is a testament to the global interaction that was carried out in the Hellenistic period.
Archaeological excavation of Ai Khanoum / the Corinthian Capital found by King Nasher / the Delphic Maxims inscription. Photos courtesy from brewminate and Wikicommons reproduced under creative commons.
Evidence from Ai Khanoum includes a set of Delphic Maxims, these were famous Greek sayings attributed to the Delphic Oracle or sometimes the mythical Seven Sages of Greece. The sayings retain some modern popularity: In childhood, be well behaved/in youth, have self-control/in middle age, behave justly/in old age, be of wise counsel/in death, be without sorrow. Inscribed in Greek they highlight how the individuals of Ai Khanoum, located in on the fringes of the known world identified and bought into Greek culture. However the city also retained local elements including mud brick houses, flat roofs and a distinctively local temple complex. These architectural elements would belong to the local Bactrians and indicate that Ai Khanoum was more than just a Greek city. It was a melting pot and the architecture, material culture and archaeology reflects two different communities that interacted alongside and amongst each other. Ai Khanoum evokes a tolerance, interaction and respect between the Greeks and the locals which is an exemplar of model of Greek settlements in the East.
Artifacts from Ai Khanoum and other famous Afghanistan sites including Tillya Tepe (The hill of Gold) toured Europe and America in the exhibition: Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World. It was exhibited in the British Museum between March and July 2011 and you can see its video advert which highlights some items from Ai Khanoum here. The site was never fully excavated and was damaged in the 2003 Iraq War, and suffered looting in the subsequent instability of the region. This has caused precious information on the site to be lost which may further shed light on Greek interactions in the East.